Vehicle-wheel.



M'. L; WILLIAMS. vBHIoLE WHEEL. APPLIoATIok Hmm rnn.12. 19oo.`

903,256; l Pateate Nav. 36, 1968,

.of the arrows; thc- -ligure being omitted Fig.

MARTIN L. WILLIAMS, O SOUTH BEND, INDIANA.

VEHICLE-WHEEL.

Bpeccation o! Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 10, ,1908.

Application tiled February 12, 1906. Serial No. 300,556.

parts of the wlieel'to which the weight car-- ried by the axle istransmitted. l

Among the salient objects of the invention are to provide a constructionin' which the weight carried by the axle of the vehicle is transmittedto the supporting wheel through springs; to provide a vehicle wheel theparts of which are so ranged that the wheel ma oscillate about avertical axi'swithout mo ifying the action of the supporting springs orother coperative parts'j tonrovide a construction wliic ina-y beutilized as a. traction and starting wheel without disturbing thecoi'ipei'ative Arelations of. the parts; to provide a con struction inwhich the springs, hearings and driving mechanism are all eti'ectivelyhoused an selfeontained; to so construct and arrange thc parts as toatl'ord ready access to the. working parts of the wheel and permit thisto be done without disturbing the adjustiiients of the various parts,and in general to provide a simple, etlicicnt and generally improvedconstruction ot' tho character re erred to.

The invention consists in tho matters hereinafter pointed out in theappended claims.

In the drawiug-l-Figure l is a vertical and axial sectional vicw ot' theof u wheel and connected cud ot` thc vchiclc axle, embodying thc.invention; it being understood that the rini and outcr parts ol' thewheel may be olE an)y usual or preferrcd construction', Fig. 2 is a vicwtakcn on liuc i2-2 of Fig. l, and looking in thc direction ontcrportionsl oi' thc Il is au axial sci tion of the central portion of thchub takcn in a planeI at. right anglcs to thc plano oi' section of Fig.l; Fig. lis a vicw in clcvatiou of one-halt' oi ont` ot thc iniprovcdroller bearings l'orining-onc fcaturc ot' the faces, 6 an constructedand :1r--

described, and more particularly hub portion.

.and bctwcen cach present invention,

Referring to the drawing, l designates the end portion of a vehicle axlewhich is hollow or axially bored, as indicated at 2,

. and terminates in a yoke-like enlargement 3 having upper and lowersupporting ears 4 and .5, res ect'ively. The inner 6', of the yokeextensions are cylindric, as best vseen in Fig. 3, and concentric withthe axis of oscillation of the wheel, as will hereinafter appear.

7 designates as a whole a couple-yoke which is pivotally mounted uponthe ationary yoke El upon the cnd oi the axle. To this end the yoke 7 isprovided with two vertically alined pivot cars, designated and 8', atits upper side and with a corresponding pair ot' pivot ears t) and tl'at its lower sido', all four of these ears being in vcrtical registerwith each other. and iii rcgistcr willi the cars 4 and 5 of thestationary yoke. Through the u )per pair of cars S and S' and theinterposed ear t is inserted a pivot. bolt 10,- and likewise through thclower scts ot' ears is inserted a siinilur pivot bolt itl', cach ofthese pivot bolts bring provided at its radially outer end with a hcadll which is counter- Snnk so as to lio llush with thc cxtcrior snriacooi' the corresponding yokc car.

The yoke. cars z5, s apart. n considerable distnncc. and 'bctwccn theundcr sides ot' tlu` vokc curs l and i of thc stationary yokt` alul thcupptr sidcs of the lower cars H and tl of thc couplc-yoktn :ircintcrposcd coilcd cxpansion springs l. and lil, respcctivcly, which art`ol' sullicicnt. strength to sust-ain thc. vchiclc load which conn-su'ion thc whccl.

ln orclcr to rcdncc the fi'iclional rcsistance of oscillatory niovcnicntol thc. wheel about the pivot bolts lt) and itl', bearing plates 1l areintcrposed between thc uppcr -cnds ol' thcsc springs and thc ovcrlyingcars 4 and 5 bearing platc and car is l'orincd a racc way in which isarranged a sut oiI anti friction balls. :is lo'. thcscrat:e ways boingconccutric with thc pivot bolts.

'l`hc exterior of the conplc-yolu is circular` and cylindric in theprcscnt instance, sind i'orn'is a scat. upon which is lnonutcd an antifriction hall bearing nicchanisin, which ballbcariug nuchanisui has bccninadc the- Sullicct of a division application. 'l"hisbull hearingmechanism comprises an inner race ring shown as removed from verticaland .l. J arc spaced l 16 seated directly upon the exterior of thecouple -yoke and provided in its outer periphery with la V-shaped ballgroove 17, a somewhat similar outer racering, designated as a whole 18,arranged concentric with the inner race ring and provided in its innerface with a ball race 19 and a set of anti friction balls 20 interposedbetween the race rings.

The outer race rin is of two-part construe; tion, being divide andseparable at a joint 21 which bisects the race groove; this expedientbeing adopted in order to permit of the assembling of thel bearin Thetwo parts, designated 22 and 23, o the divided ring are rigidly unitedand held in fixed relation to each other bymeans of a channelfsha edunion ring 2 4 applied tothe outer peri ery of the rlng `and havingitslateral edges embracing the lateral sides of the ring members, asshown clearly in. the drawing. Thisv channel rin ing members have beenproperly assembled, such for example as mild steel. The edges of theunion 'ring or band are crimped or formed over so as to embrace thesidesof the divided ring and' make of the latter torall practical intents aone-piece structure. In order to further insure against `movement Vofone, member 22 relatively to the other 23, the joint of separation 21 isshown as so formed as to provide intertitting shoulders and recesses;the line of separation being zigzagged in the resentlinstance, asindicated at 25. The si es of the ball groove, both in the outer andinnerbearing rings, are inclined equally to the axis-of the bearingrings so that t e race way formed between the two rin .fs provides fourpoints of bearin for eaclrball element `19, which points of earing areso located as to best resist end thrusts.

Y"or wei ht brought -thereon in a direction paralle with the axis of thewheel while at the same time tran smittin the-carried weight from' thevehicle axle to t 1e wheel.

provided with an internal cylindric seat 27 and a 'right-angled orradial fiange 28`ex tending radially inward at the inside of the Wheeland slightl overlap infr the -corres nding side of t ie relative y iixedbearing 'ring 16. Radial s oke sockets 29 are forme at suitable intervas in the outer side of the lso spoke-ring, within whichare seatedspokesA 30 which, of course, carry'ttheir outer ends vany suitable wheelrimvv and tire. r

A circular end' plate Slis applied. to the plate'being shown asconveniently olted to is formed of metal which i can be bent or ormed'into channel shape upon the exterior of0 the ring after the bearthespoke'ring member by a series of tap bolts 32. Anannular projection 33upon the 4inside of the end plate 31 impinges against the roximate sideof the outer ring 18 and con nes the latter properly withink its seat.The inner bearing ring member 16 is confined upon its seat, as to itsouter side, by means of a flat confining ring 34 bolted' to thecouple-yoke, as shown, and overlapping e the side of the ring, and as toits opposite side said ring is confined by a closure plate 35 theperipheral portion. of which is bolted toV the couple-yoke, as indicatedat 36, and similarly overlaps the bearing rin As hereinbeforestated, theinner v'ertjica faces 6 and 6 of the yok'e extensions on the axle arecylindric, and the closure plate 35 is correspondingly shaped, asindicated at 37 and 38 (see Fig. 2) to fit over these yoke meinbers.Inasxnnch as the axle yoke has a vertical movement relatively to thewheel and closure late, the latter is slotted or provided with asuitable central opening 39 to providefor the up and down movement ofthe axle. A packing ring 40 of felt or other suitable material isdesirably interposed between the meeting faces of the yoke members andclosure plate. Theelosure plate is of two-part construction, being shownas divided 'along its horizontal center, and the meeting ed es thereofunited by means of -outturned lganges 41 through which are insertedsuitable bolts. The lower closure platev meinber carries a steering arm42, shown as formed integrally therewith and larranged to extendlaterally and obliquely downwardly from the 'vertical center of lthehub, as seen clearly in Figs. 2 and 3; the' flexible axle shaft,designated as a whole 215i,

is shown as extoni'ling outwardly through the hollow axle, through thecentral opening of the couplc-yolie and operatively connccted with theconter oi' the 0nd plate Ill.

The axle shaft comprises three sections, ldesignated 44, 45 and liti,resj'iectively, connected with'euch other by two ball. or univers-:iljoints 47 and fl. will be understoml, is suitably journaled in thevehicle axle so that itself :nul thc ball joint 48am incapable of bodilynzoveinont. although, of course, treo to rotate. The ball The shaftmember 4l, i t.

joint 48 is located as su'ci'fnrn-tely as may be 1n alinement with't-lieoscillatory oi-.pivotal zaxis of the wheel, z'. e. in alin'ementwith the "pivot bolts 1() and 10', while the .section 46 1s loperatively.connected with the center of the end' vlate 3l by means of-afsqinile-or -nonecircu ar shanlr 49 engaging a corre-- sponding apertureV in thepitite-and free to side endwise thereon. The mechanlsm cessa 7 the wheelit will be obvious that steering ltl movements of the wheel do not inany wise disturb the driving mechanism. In this conrection it will benoted that the width of the opening 39 in the closure plate 35 is amplef to permit the necessary oscillatory movement of the wheel withoutbringing the plate into encounter with the axle.

It will be understood from the foregoing description thatA a wheelembodyin my invention accomplishes the severa objects hereinbeforestated, and provides an` extremely simple, durable structure of thecharacter described.

lt will be further understood that certain featuresof the improvementare4not necessarily combined with other features, as *for example thatfeature of the invention which resides in mounting the wheel upon thea'xle through the medium of stationary and couple-yokes and interposedexpansion s rings, as appl' fable to a wheel incapable o oscillatorymovement upon the axle. So also thc driving mechanism may be dispensedwith where the wheel is not'a traction wheel.

l claim as my invention: i

l. ln combination with a vehicle axle having a terminal yoke, a vehiclehub having an end closure plate and couple yoke movallly connected withthe axle yoke, coiled springs interposed between the intertitting partsof the axle yoke and couple yoke, an axle sceured to said end closureplate and extend-I ing between r"aid coiled springs and having drivin;fainneetions independently of the latter.

2. ln combination with a vehicle axle having a terminal yoke providedwith vertiv-allv superposed spaced apart ears, a hub compri-nlug acouple-yoke having vertically supcrpo-ed -paced apart cars ad'apted'toregister with the 'ears ol' thc axle yoke, one or more pivot lloltsextending through said cwi-lapping ears ol' thtl axle and coupleyolt'esand pivot ally uniting the saine, one or niortroiled expansion springsinterposed lit-tween said cars and through which the weight on tluwhit-le axle is transmitted to tlucouple rohe, a wheel journalcd torotate upon the exterior ot' tlic couple-yoke, an end closure platesecured to saidwvlu-cl. and an axle shalt extending' lutwccn saidinterconnecting yolt'es and having driving connection.-y \.\'it|| .-nidvnd closure plate independiiil .fn-Hl yil'lllfgs.

2.. lo rouilrination with a vehicle axle havin;r a trrlninal lvolteprovided with vertirnllvrsppt'rpo-rtl and spaced apart cars, a

vehicle hub comprising a coupleoke having vertically superposed'andspace apart ears adapted to register with the ears ot the axle yoke, oneor `more pivot bolts extending through said overlapping ears of the axleand couple-yokes and pivotally uniting the same, one or more coiledexpansion springs inter sed'` between said ears .id through 'whic theweight on the vehicle axle is transmitted to the couple-yoke, a wheeljournaled tofrotate upon the exterior of the coupleyoke, and drivingconnections extending through the axle and couple-yokes and operativelyconnectedV with the wheel jonrnaled upon the latter yoke.

4. In combination with a vehicle axle having a terminal oke providedvith vertically sugerposedf an spaced apart ears, a vertical hucomprising a cou le-yoke having vertically superposed an spaced apartears adapted to register with the ears of the axle yoke, one or movepivot bolts extending through said overlapping ears ofthe axle andcouple yokes and-pivotally unitingtliey same, one or more coiledexpansion sprin inter sed between said ears and throng whic the weighton the vehicle axle is transmitted to the couple-yoke, naled to rotateupon the exterior o couple-yoke, and driving connections extendingthrough the axle and couple-{okes ,and operatively connected with theweel journaled upon the latter yoke, said driving connections comprisinga sectional shaft provided with a universal joint'locatedv approximatelyin alinement' with the axis of oscillation of the wheel and a secondjoint located within the axle and inside of said first inentioned joint.

5. In combination, a vehicle axle having a terminal yoke comprisingvertically upward and vcrticall downward extending arms each'fprovidcwith vertically superposcd and spaced apart ears, the exterior surfacesof said yoke-arms being vertica and cyliudric, a vehicle hub connectedwith said yoke comprising a couple-yoke having vertically super-posedand spaced apart ears adapted to ivgistcr with thc ears of the axleyokeand couple-yoke and pivotally uniting same, one or more coiled cxpansionsprin s interposed between the ears of the coup eyoke and those ot' theaxle-yoke, a wheel journaled to rotate upon the exterior of thecouple-yoke, and a closure plate mounted upon the inner sido of Isaidwheel and surrounding and partially int-losing said axle yoke. tlia.tpart ot' said plate contiguous to the cylindric silrfaees'of said yokearms being termed correspondingly cylindri'c, and provided with anaperture through which the axle extends, substantially as described.

ti. ln combination.I a vehicle axle having a tcrminalfvoke comprisingvertically upward and ver; silly downward extending arms a wheelijouireach provided with verticall spaced said yo and apart ears, thlie-arms being a vehicle hok connecte prising n, superp e exteriorJertiniil and d with said couple-yoke osed und spaced` a to registerwith the couple-yoke same, one or mor interposedbetw yoke andy thoseJournaled to rot couple-yoke,

upon the inne y superposed and surfaces of cylindric; yoke comhavingvertically part ears ada ears of the axle- :md pivotally unilin e coiledexpn een the ears of of the axlente upon the and a closure r side oflsaid g the sion springs i pla'te, substantial exterior f the `pletemounted wheelmd surleeel l l rounding and partially inclosing said axlei5 yoke, that part of said plate contiguous to the cylindrlc surfaces ofsaid yoke arms bemg provided with an a erture through which pted y theaxle extends, an a packing interposed 2o yoke I between said closure'plaie and the yoke and surrounding tlie'zlperture through the closureormed correspondingly cylindrio, and

y as describe MARTIN L. WILLIAMS.

Witnesses FRANKLL BELKNA, EMILIE. ROSE.

